Old Greenwich Taekwondo master writes screenplay to advance his teachings

Grand Master Kang, a marital arts master, teaches a class in tae kwon do at his studio in Old Greenwich Friday. Ik Jo Kang is the subject of an upcoming film about his life. He has been teaching martial arts for over 40 years. less

Grand Master Kang, a marital arts master, teaches a class in tae kwon do at his studio in Old Greenwich Friday. Ik Jo Kang is the subject of an upcoming film about his life. He has been teaching martial arts ... more

Grand Master Kang, a marital arts master, teaches a class in tae kwon do at his studio in Old Greenwich Friday. Ik Jo Kang is the subject of an upcoming film about his life. He has been teaching martial arts for over 40 years. less

Grand Master Kang, a marital arts master, teaches a class in tae kwon do at his studio in Old Greenwich Friday. Ik Jo Kang is the subject of an upcoming film about his life. He has been teaching martial arts ... more

Old Greenwich Taekwondo master writes screenplay to advance his teachings

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About 10 students ranging from 5 to 18 years old sat cross-legged in a circle on the floor during martial arts class late last week. Slightly winded from the half-hour of training, they looked to their instructor, Grand Master Ik Jo Kang, clad all in red.

“You have to grow like a big tree: slowly. And change the way the leaves change color,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” the children replied.

Kang, 76, is an eighth-degree black belt in taekwondo and ninth-degree black belt in hapkido, among the highest ranks attainable in the Korean martial arts.

And now, Kang, owner of Kang Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido in Old Greenwich, has written a semi-autobiographical screenplay for a film tentatively titled “I Can, I Will, I Did,” which he said should begin filming in the middle of November.

They chanted “I can, I will, I did” many times, always referring to Kang as “sir.”

“I never say no to them, always good things,” Kang said. Children cannot be forced to change; they have to gradually change through positive reinforcement, he said.

Focus, discipline, and concentration are the key ingredients to succeeding in taekwondo, Kang said. And they’re also the key ingredients to making a morally “good” person, he said.

“I stick with them, listen to them, and then eventually they listen to me,” he said.

“He has a very strong philosophy about the community and that any fight can be ended if we just communicate with each other,” said Susan Layden Grady, a third-degree black belt from Old Greenwich.

Grady was a professional gymnast before she came to Kang Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido 10 years ago. Two years later, she became an instructor, and said she was amazed to find how much her students changed over the past eight years.

Part of Kang’s methodology is repeating the same words and phrases constantly until, he said, his students internalize them. Kang said there are certain words, including “I can, I will, I did,” that the students repeat thousands of times before earning their black belt.

As for his film, Kang said he hopes parents and children will go see it together and that it will spark dialogue between them.

“I think we need leaders, but we also really need role models. Master Kang provides that. He’s thoughtful about what he says. He models that over and over,” Grady said.

Grady said Kang’s community-centric approach to taekwondo has gotten her involved with community service.